‘Captain America’ Writers Talk ‘Agent Carter’ TV Series Plans

Marvel already has a decently successful television series with ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that was developed from ideas first seen in their direct-to-DVD/Blu-ray short films. Now Marvel and ABC are working on another One-Shot inspired series, this one starring Agent Peggy Carter.

An Agent Carter television series has been a popular notion ever since the Marvel One-Shot of the same name released with Iron Man 3‘s DVD/Blu-ray. That short saw Hayley Atwell return as Peggy Carter, now a newly recruited S.H.I.E.L.D. agent searching for “the enigmatic ‘Zodiac’ key,” while battling relentless sexism from those who didn’t think it right for a woman to serve in the agency.

In Captain America: The First Avenger, Atwell’s Peggy Carter was quickly a popular character out of an already well-received ensemble. Her starring role in the Agent Carter short only won over more fans, pleasantly surprised to see a character many assumed was finished on screen once Cap awoke in the present day.

Markus and McFeely revealed that ABC has their script for the pilot, but nothing has yet been greenlit. They also confirmed they’ve spoken with Hayley Atwell and that she is very interested in returning as Peggy Carter – and considering the actress has spoken quite openly about her desire to be part of an Agent Carter series, her casting is really only a matter of time and final word from ABC.

The series would be set in 1946 during those early days of S.H.I.E.L.D., continuing to explore Peggy’s struggle for respect from her colleagues and superiors. Surely, they’ll be more to it than that because as interesting as her battles with sexism were in the One-Shot, over an entire series they could get wearisome.

As for the length of the series, McFeely said they’ve planned for 13 episodes (or “maybe even less”):

“That’s my hope, is that it would be something like [Under the Dome]. Our case would be that it would be a limited series and you would wrap up that one bad guy and that one case, and then if you like it we’ll do it again next year and it’s 1947.”

Collider also learned the intention is for Howard Stark to be a recurring character, not unlike his guest appearance in the Agent Carter One-Shot. Actor Dominic Cooper has spoken of his interest in returning to the role before, but with nothing officially greenlit it’s obviously a little early to be ringing him about the series just yet.

It’s very possible an Agent Carter series would work well airing in tandem with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., building for Marvel a unified S.H.I.E.L.D.-centric universe outside of the films. There’s potential for an interesting cast, presumably with an attempt to bring back Bradley Whitford as Peggy’s boss, Agent Flynn – and with a 1940s setting, it would be unlike anything on TV, especially network television.

Add to that their potential for a Netflix takeover with planned series based on Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and more, and Marvel is truly building a media empire. Disney has taught them well.

Is an Agent Carter television series something you’d like to see ABC and Marvel move forward with? What do you think of the planned direction for the series? Sound off in the comments below!